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Flo Milli is still riding high on the success of her debut studio album You Still Here, Ho?, which dropped in July and featured new tracks like “PBC,” “Conceited,” and “No Face.” Never one to be content with her previous output, Milli keeps the ball rolling with another new video, this time for the supremely confident “Big Steppa.” True to the song’s title, the Alabama rapper goes full kaiju in the clip, stomping around in a miniature city and delivering aggressive boasts in a variety of designer ensembles.

In addition to its collection of new songs, You Still Here, Ho? included a few of her older hits like “Roaring 20s” and “Ice Baby.” As she explained in an interview with Vulture, “I was very intentional with this album. My last one, to me, felt a little rushed. That was my first project ever. I didn’t have that much knowledge about how to go about it. But you know, of course, when you do something, you learn from your mistakes and you learn from that… I got tired of people, like, saying certain stuff, even though people are gonna talk. That ties back into the name. Like, ho, you still here, though?”

Watch Flo Milli’s “Big Steppa” video above.

This story originally appeared on 06.17.22

There are many traditional staples of fatherhood—love, support, protection, security, providing an example—but there is, of course, that other not-so-warm-and-fuzzy feeling that dads can provoke in their kids at any given moment … sheer, utter embarrassment.

Usually in a father’s humiliation tool belt is the infamous dad joke. These corny puns have been around since 2003, and let’s face it, they’ll never leave. Of course, no dad needs one to make your eyes roll. They can do that most of the time simply by being themselves.

For his well-known #Hashtags segment, Jimmy Fallon asked his “Tonight Show” audience to share “funny, weird, or embarrassing” stories about their dads. Fallon, a father himself, is no stranger to the cringeworthy power of a dad joke. In a 2020 interview with TODAY, Fallon admitted, “I’m starting to get the eye rolls now where Daddy’s not the funniest person in the world.”

Don’t worry Fallon! Clearly you’re not alone, because people replied with some truly hilarious comments. Dads might be silly, but we’ll gladly put up with it for the love they give us.

Enjoy 20 of the very best #DadStories:

As usual, Fallon went first:

1.

“Instead of buying a smoker my dad just grills in the garage with the door closed.” – @jimmyfallon

2.

“At my aunt’s wedding reception, my dad ran out from the bathroom when he heard You Should Be Dancing by the Bee Gees play, and proceeded to do John Travolta’s routine from Saturday Night Fever.” – @MJ_Rose88

3.

“My Dad will call me sometimes when he wants me to bring him food. He refers to me as ‘GrubDash.'” – @FalPalAMF828

4.

“My dad likes to play a very morbid game called ‘guess who died’, which consists of him gossiping about someone I probably haven’t seen in 20+ years and can’t remember at all, who died recently. Bonus points for guessing the cause of death.” – @jon_jonz

5.

“My dad used to drink his morning coffee with his dentures in his hand while reading the newspaper. When we asked him why, he said his teeth also wanted to read the newspaper.” – @FallonHolic_

6.

“When my dad took my sister to her first Jr. HS dance, she asked to be dropped off a block before the school. My dad proceeded to take her all the way up to the main entrance, got out of the car and loudly announced her arrival!” – @77BroncosFan

7.

“Asked my dad if he knew who Taylor Swift was…he said, I don’t care who he is!” – @JessyKrupa

8.

“My dad whistles really loud. He sticks his head out the window and whistles back to birds. But when the lady next door heard him, she called 911. The cops told her, ‘Lady, he didn’t whistle at you. He only flirts with birds.'” – @tostianascripts

9.

“When my dad would leave a message on my answering machine, he would end the message saying, ‘This is dad signing off.'” – @RealRobFindor

10.

“We were on vacation and the gift shops selling fudge called plain fudge ‘chocolate no nuts.’ A guy walked up to my dad with some samples and offered him some saying ‘chocolate no nuts?’ And my dad said ‘what did you just call me?'” – @lauraceciliaOT

11.

“My Dad laid a new floor in my brother’s house. It was all finished so we couldn’t understand why he was taking up the boards again. Turns out he had seen a spider run underneath and was worried it would be trapped.” – @Sohnzie

12.

“Whenever my dad would try to talk us into trying something new to eat he’d state, ‘It’s so good it’ll put hair on your chest.’ He had 3 daughters.” – @Bookelew

13.

“My mom once bought a 6 ft Santa statue at a yard sale without telling dad. When he got home and parked, we heard banging, crashing and swearing. We went to look and the Santa was laying face down on the curb. Dad thought someone was trying to jump him.” – @dknessfalls

14.

“My dad couldn’t decide if he wanted to be called ‘grandpa’ or ‘papa’ so he just told all of us to call him ‘Coach.’ He’s not a coach.” – @iPopEditor

15.

“My father went to the McDonalds drive thru and asked for a whopper. When they said ‘they didn’t have whoppers’, He just drove off without placing an order.” – @Marisa_Rosie22

16.

“One day we went out to eat at Pizza Hut and sat in front of an empty table with some pizza left on it. My dad, being the penny pincher he is, grabbed some and started eating it. A few minutes later the couple comes back from the bathroom asking ‘where’s our pizza?'” – @Alex_Erickson3

17.

“My dad let a bee land on his hand and watched it closely as it stung him because he ‘wanted to see the process up close.'” – @TrippyPsycholo1

18.

“My dad once tried to tell a lady she had a Big Bug on her, but accidentally told her she had a Really Big Butt. She was not amused.” – @Sallyjo25

19.

“My dad thinks it’s funny to introduce my mom as his ‘first wife’….my parents have been married for 58 years and are in their late 80’s.” – @annMcD87

20.

“My dad entered Canada by swimming across the Niagara from the US under the cover of night.” – @albertduic

This article originally appeared on 06.04.22

A common criticism gun rights activists levy toward gun legislation advocates is that many people who push for stricter gun laws don’t know a lot about guns themselves. That’s not wholly accurate—there are plenty of gun enthusiasts who support reasonable gun laws—but it’s true that many people who are horrified by our nation’s gun culture are not well-versed on the specifications of our nation’s 393 million guns.

Not every American is an active part of American “gun culture.” Some of us have never shot a firearm, for fun or otherwise. Some of us really are ignorant about guns themselves.

That can’t be said for anyone in the military, however. And it definitely can’t be said for a former Major General of the U.S. Army.

That’s why an explanation of the difference between an AR-15 and military-style firearms from retired Major General Paul Eaton has gone viral. Major General Eaton was the commander in charge of training Iraqi soldiers during Operation Iraqi Freedom, so he definitely knows what he’s talking about when it comes to weaponry.

He wrote:

“As the former Commanding General of the Infantry Center at Fort Benning and Chief of Infantry, I know a bit about weapons. Let me state unequivocally — For all intents and purposes, the AR-15 and rifles like it are weapons of war. A thread:

u201cThose opposed to assault weapon bans continue to play games with AR-15 semantics, pretending thereu2019s some meaningful differences between it and the M4 carbine that the military carries. There really arenu2019t. 2/u201d

— Major General (ret) Paul Eaton (@Major General (ret) Paul Eaton)
1654209731

Those opposed to assault weapon bans continue to play games with AR-15 semantics, pretending there’s some meaningful differences between it and the M4 carbine that the military carries. There really aren’t.

The military began a transition from the M16 to the M4, an improved M16, some years ago. The AR-15 is essentially the civilian version of the M16. The M4 is really close to the M16, and the AR-15.

So what’s the difference between the military’s M4 and the original AR-15? Barrel length and the ability to shoot three round bursts. M4s can shoot in three round bursts. AR-15s can only shoot a single shot.

But even now, you can buy AR-15s in variable barrel lengths with Weaver or Picatinny rails for better sights and aiming assists like lasers. Like the military, but w/o the bayonet.

But our troops usually use single shot, not burst fire. You’re able to fire a much more accurate (deadly) shot, that way. Note: you can buy our Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight on Amazon. So troops usually select the same fire option available on AR-15.

That is why the AR-15 is ACCURATELY CALLED a ‘weapon of war.’ It is a very deadly weapon with the same basic functionality that our troops use to kill the enemy. Don’t take the bait when anti-gun-safety folks argue about it. They know it’s true. Now you do too.”

Eaton is not the only former military leader who has spoken out in support of gun legislation. In 2019, a group of 13 influential retired military leaders wrote a letter to Congress, pushing it to pass the Bipartisan Background Check Act.

“Each of us has, at some point in our lives, made the choice to risk our lives for our fellow citizens and place ourselves in harm’s way,” they wrote. “We were trained, we were coached, and we were prepared for the dangers that we chose to face. This is not the case for most Americans, yet they continue to face danger on the sidewalk, in their homes, at school, and at work. It is in the same spirit that led us to serve in the armed forces that we ask you, our elected leaders, to help protect the American people from gun violence here at home. We urge you to support this legislation.”

Police leaders have also voiced strong support for gun legislation, which makes sense considering how much harder and more dangerous our free-for-all gun culture makes their jobs. The International Association of Chiefs of Police, the largest professional association of police leaders in the world, has a position paper that outlines the gun safety laws it supports, including firearm offender registration, waiting periods, closing the gun show loophole, banning semiautomatic assault weapons, armor-piercing ammunition, bulletproof body armor and more. The IACP states that these are “common sense policies that would assist in reducing gun violence, while upholding the second amendment.”

Yep, the largest police leader association supports banning semiautomatic assault weapons like the AR-15. Here’s what it has to say about that:

“First passed in 1994, the assault weapons ban required domestic gun manufacturers to stop production of semi-automatic assault weapons and ammunition magazines holding more than ten rounds except for military or police use. While the ban was in place, it was remarkably effective in reducing the number of crimes involving assault weapons. In the period of the ban, (1994-2004) the proportion of assault weapons traced to crimes fell by a dramatic 66 percent.”

If those who oppose gun legislation don’t want to listen to people who don’t know enough about guns to speak authoritatively on them, that’s fine. Perhaps they should listen to these military and police leaders who not only know guns inside and out, but who also have the firsthand experience on both sides of the barrel to speak authoritatively on what can help minimize America’s gun violence.

This story originally appeared on 02.24.22

Kindergarten through 12th grade teachers and college professors have heard every excuse in the book. Whether it’s a third grader claiming their “dog ate my homework” or a college freshman claiming their grandmother died to get out of a test, they’ve heard it all a billion times.

A college professor once listed the top 21 excuses he’s heard from his students. Here are the top five:

5. “It’s the last week of the semester.”

4. “It’s St. Patrick’s Day or 4/20”

3. “Our other teacher held us back.”

2. “My timetable showed the class was canceled.”

1. “I’m taking a vacation.”

Yes, some students actually say they didn’t do their work because of a holiday predicated on drinking or getting stoned and others have the audacity to say, “Hey! I needed a vacation.” After spending week after week fielding excuses, there’s a good reason why most educators are skeptical when they hear one from their students.

But every once in a while, an excuse that seems way too improbable to be believed actually is true.

Reddit user u/minecraftplayer48 asked the teachers of Reddit to share the “best excuse for being late that turned out to be true” and the stories were all pretty great. But it wasn’t only teachers who chimed in; a lot of people shared stories from when they were students and had an excuse that was so crazy they didn’t think anyone would believe them.

Here are 17 of the best excuses for being late that were actually true.

1. Revenge of the torque wrench

“My auto teacher let me practice removing and adding the tires on his vehicle. The next morning it was about 20 minutes into first period and no sign of him. He comes running into the classroom out of breath and his hair is all messed up. He points at me and says ‘YOU!!!! What is a torque wrench used for???’ I respond with “I don’t know.” He says ‘ I know you don’t know!!!” Turns out one of his tires came off while driving down the highway.” — ethnicjello

2. Mom wanted to sleep in

“She had to take her sister to school and drive her mom to rehab. She was always late to class because her mom just wanted to sleep in. Problem was if the mom was late or did not go she would have violated her probation and gone to prison. I never marked her late. If she missed anything important she could come in at lunch or after school to make it up.” — RM156

3. “That was you?”

“Student here, I headed into school early to get some studying done in the library before my night class. I was one exit away when I was caught in a 3 car accident. Most of the expressway afterwards was gridlock with only one lane left open. I did eventually make it into my lab class 15 minutes late, with a few scrapes and bruises. My professors reaction was simply ‘Oh that was you!”” — AlienCowAbduction

4. “School bus blew up”

“I was one of about 20 kids who were late to school. We showed up at the school office as a group and when questioned why we were late, we said ‘The school bus blew up.’ They questioned ‘So the engine blew up?’ The kids ‘No, the whole bus, in flames. It blew up.’

“There was much conference between the teachers, all of them thinking we embellished the story. Next thing you know, one of the admin staff has the news website open, very obvious image of an entire bus on fire with a bunch of kids in our school uniform standing in front of it. Our late slip for class read ‘School bus blew up.'” — AusPB90

5. B.U.I. 

“Told me he got pulled over by the cops for wobbly driving on his bike and they thought he was drunk. Turned out he was just dodging all the slugs on the street.” — Fortisvol

6. Chicken of death

“A guy in my college class missed class one day. The next day he came in with his eye covered up and medical paperwork in hand. Apparently he got pecked in the eye by a chicken.” — BrrToe

7. Chicken 2: The chickening

“When I was student teaching, I was late because there was bunch chickens in the middle of the road. They wouldn’t move at all. This is in the middle of a city of 200,000 people. Freaking chickens.

“I finally get to school and profusely apologize to my mentor teacher and I told her why I was late thinking it sounded ridiculous. She said, ‘yeah, those chickens are fucking assholes, they surrounded my car in the McDonalds parking lot last year. Don’t worry about it.” — Makenshine

8. Cracker Barrel conference

“Taught a group of seniors first period. It was towards the end of the year. I had a class of around 30 and only 5 were there when the bell rang. Halfway through class, the rest of them show up. They went out to Cracker Barrel for breakfast and brought me some back. All was forgiven.” — SwansonsLoveChild

9. Beary late

“Bear on the backyard. No access gate. Animal control had to tranq it from the room and drag it through the house. Made the news. Got to retake the test I missed after sending her the news article.” — Vladtehwood

10. Present the flat

“We had an exam in my class and the teacher got a message from a student saying that he was going to be late because his car had a flat tire (the student was known to party), the teacher didn’t think it could be true, so as a joke the teacher asked him to bring the tire back. He brought the flat tire back in the middle of the exam. Needless to say, the professor didn’t expect that.” — Sapang

11. Moo

“A kid missed my first-period class one morning but was in school later that day. When I asked him why he hadn’t arrived in time for my course, he said his cow was birthing its calf that morning, so he’d picked being in the barn over English. Made sense to me. His essays weren’t going to win any ribbons at the county fair, but his calf could.” — Bobosbigsister

12. Abduction

“In high school a kid came late to history class. He was a joker so when someone asked him where he had been, he goes ‘I was kidnapped.’ Everyone laughed, until he goes ‘no really.’

“Turns out 2 guys kidnapped him and tossed him into the back of the minivan he was using for his morning paper route. They drove him around while they robbed something. I can’t remember what happens after. I think they just drove the van somewhere and got away.” — notinmybackyardcanad

13. Honesty is the best excuse

“Not a teacher, but a kid walked into my class one day and literally just said ‘Sorry I’m late, I didn’t want to be here.’ He wasn’t wrong I suppose.” — Scally59

14. It actually was the dog

“A little off topic but in 8th grade, a friend of mine turned in their homework late because her dog literally ate her homework. She even brought a note from her parents.” — JoeyJoey2004

15. Is this a real excuse? Or is it fantasy?

“‘Sorry Bohemian Rhapsody came on just as I parked.’ — My art teacher when he was about 5:55 minutes late.” — Deeberber

16. “I took a shortcut”

“This happened to me as a pupil; a very quiet, unassuming kid in our class came in to German with about five minutes of the class left. We went to a Catholic school and the teachers were all quite strict and intimidating. Classes were usually silent, especially in junior school. When this boy came into class at the end of the lesson that day, the door flew inwards with such force that the teacher gave an audible gasp.

“It had been raining heavily outside, his hair was plastered to his forehead. His blazer was dripping and sodden. He had mud caked into his trousers up to his knees, and he was breathing heavily. The teacher exclaimed, ‘Brendan! What happened?’ We all stared up at him in shocked silence. This quiet, unassuming little boy let out a big sigh and just said, ‘I took a shortcut.’ And went straight to his seat.

“That line became iconic in our school for years afterward.” — lestat85

17. Pug lovers can attest 

“Kid was late to school and had to miss a very important football game. The reason? His fat pug fell asleep on his phone. The pug’s fat rolls muffled his alarm.” — tip52

Warning: Spoilers ahead for the season finale of Only Murders In The Building.

Isn’t it great when you introduce a group of friends to another group of friends and they really hit it off? That’s how it felt when Paul Rudd made a small cameo on the most recent episode of Only Muders in The Building. Yes, he was a slightly intense stage actor with a small tiff with Steve Martin, but it works! And now, fans will get to see more of him as Rudd has been cast in season three of the hit Hulu whodunnit.

Rudd appeared in the season two finale as Ben Glenroy, an actor with stage fright who collapses on stage in the final moments of the season, much to Mabel’s frustration. This means more murder!

Season three of the murder-mystery show was greenlit last month, and co-creator John Hoffman says they are in the midst of crafting the storyline, with a focus on Selena Gomez‘s character, Mabel. “We’re writing season three now and we’re mapping out what we’re doing for season three with these characters and it is time, I feel like, to take a look at really landing the direction for [Mabel],” Hoffman told Elle.

“We’re aiming towards that and I think it’s exciting and she’s got her foot on the gas, a bit. Mabel, I just love her arc because it does point to a lift at the end of season two that feels right on time. You feel a sense of an opportunity of a restart.” A new start with Paul Rudd sounds great!

(Via Variety)

Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon is the OG single barrel bourbon and one of the most sought-after whiskeys out there. Today, the bottle is so popular and fleeting that people line up overnight at local retailers, pay premiums on the aftermarket and at auctions, and travel overseas just to snag a bottle. I’m a big fan too and have hoarded a stash of Blanton’s for both special occasions and investing. So I figured it was time to break down how I procured those bottles, in hopes that you might be able to buy one too.

Blanton’s — made by the Sazerac Company at Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky — changed the bourbon game in the 1980s when it was first released. The bottle was the first ever single barrel bourbon release, which, admittedly, sounds crazy in 2022 when single barrel whiskeys are released nearly non-stop. The “drop” (they weren’t called that back then) was the masterstroke of Elmer T. Lee back in ’84. Basically, the distillery was looking to stay afloat and move product during the dark days of whiskey when distilleries were shuttering left and right.

The hand-selected, hand-dumped, hand-bottled, and hand-labeled whiskey was a massive hit — mostly in Japan — to the point that it damn near single-handedly saved the distillery from collapse. And to be fair, it is (and always was) an exceptional offering. The juice itself from six to eight-year-old barrels from Buffalo Trace’s famed Warehouse H, which was built after Prohibition by Albert B. Blanton, or “Colonel Blanton” as he’s referred to at Buffalo Trace. These days, the process is still all done by hand like it was done in the 1980s to the point that there’s a room full of workers still hand-writing and sealing every label. While Buffalo Trace is mum about their water, yeast, and grains, we do know that Blanton’s come from their famed Mash Bill no. 2. That’s a slightly higher (but still low) rye mash bill that’s also used for Ancient Age, Elmer T. Lee, Rock Hill Farms, and Hancock’s Reserve bourbons.

When it comes to Blanton’s there are three core expressions — The OG Single Barrel Bourbon at 93 proof, Gold at 103 proof, and Straight From the Barrel at barrel proof plus a few international variations (more on those later). Read on for how to score one for yourself!

Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months

• We Blind Tasted A Whole Bunch Of $30-60 Bourbons To See If Any Could Beat Weller
• We Blind Tasted Classic Bourbons And Were Shocked By The Winner
• The Best Ten-Year-Old Bourbon Whiskeys, Tasted Blind And Ranked
• We Tasted Bourbon Whiskeys ‘Double-Blind’ And Tried To Guess Each Bottle
• All The Double Gold-Winning Straight Bourbons From This Year’s San Francisco World Spirits Competition

METHOD 1a — Retail

This is going to take the most person-to-person conversation. Yes, some retailers still get an allotment of Blanton’s — mostly just the OG bottle though. My local liquor store (in Kentucky) just had a case or two come in last week. It was on the shelf for about 4 hours before it sold out. It was priced at $79.99. There was never a line outside.

Unfortunately, I was too late to get a bottle. Why? I didn’t ask the store manager to tag me when that particular bottle came in.

Here’s the rub with getting bottles at retail prices at retail shops — you need to first join their customer club/benefits club/member’s club. Then you need to become a regular. Then you need to strike up a conversation with the manager. Generally, if you’re a good customer who they see often, this should all be easy. But you have to have a relationship with the folks who work at these stores. Otherwise, you’re not getting anything unless — through blind luck — you show up and there’s some on the shelf.

Make the right friends. Be kind. Don’t ask for too much too early. Find out when allocated deliveries take place. Don’t abuse that information. Be a good neighbor. It’s not rocket science and it does work.

METHOD 1b — Online Retail

Then there’s online retail. This is a little dicier. Retailers like Drizly or Reserve Bar will get bottles in but they will only be available in certain regional markets. There’s no universal rule for buying/shipping booze in the U.S., so you’re at the whim of which state got what and their laws and which online retailer got their cut of that cut. So you may see a bottle of Blanton’s on Drizly for $89 but you’re in San Francisco, California, and that bottle is in Peoria, Illinois, and you’re out of luck. Naturally, sometimes the stars align with online retailers and you can score some serious bottles. You just have to set up alerts and check regularly in your zip code. To be frank, it’s likely easier just to go to your local (good) liquor store and get to know the staff.

PRO TIP:

Be warned. IRL retailers will mark up prices beyond the MSRP. Sometimes that markup might be $15, like in my local liquor store. Sometimes it might be a lot more. Know the MSRP (manufacturers suggested retail price) before you go into the shop or hit buy online.

Blanton’s Original is $65. Gold is $95. Straight From The Barrel is $110.

METHOD 2 — Visit The Distillery

Distillery bottle shops can be a gold mine. They can also be frustrating. The Gift Shop at Buffalo Trace is a great place to get rare bottles at true retail.

If you’re in making your pilgrimage to the Buffalo Trace promised land in Frankfort, Kentucky, you can grab up to two bottles at the Gift Shop. After parking, there’s a tall red-brick building with a Buffalo on it. Before you walk in, there’ll be a sandwich board that’ll list the bottles currently being sold in the Gift Shop that day. Wheatly Vodka and Bourbon Creme are always on there. The top slot rotates daily. This can be Weller Special Reserve, Blanton’s, Elmer T. Lee, Eagle Rare 10, Buffalo Trace Bourbon, and maybe a few other entry-level bottles (never, ever is it Pappy — don’t bother).

Whichever bottle is available that day will be at MSRP. That means you can get a Weller SR for $30 or a Blanton’s for $65. If you live in north-central Kentucky, it’s not that hard to keep your ear to the ground and hear through the grapevine what’s on the sandwich board every day. If you’re in town for one day as a tourist, you’re getting whatever is on that sandwich board that day.

METHOD 3 — The Aftermarket

This is the easiest way to score a bottle. The aftermarket is a guaranteed win… but at a price. These are online and in-person retailers that will sell collectible and other hard-to-find bottles of whiskey that they buy, sell, and trade for.

The most legit place to get an aftermarket retail bottle of Blanton’s is Justins’ House of Bourbon in both Lexington and Louisville. A single bottle of the OG Blanton’s will set you back $249. That may sound dire. But there’s a guarantee involved that’s very important. There’s a ton of subterfuge and forgery in the high-end whiskey game. Places like Justins’ has a crew that makes sure you’re getting the real thing to the best of their ability. The same goes for online retailers like Frootbat.com, Caskers.com, and TheWhiskyExchange.com.

For the most part, you can rest assured you’re getting what you’ve paid (top dollar) for. Beyond that, things get dicey quickly.

Another option is to use WineSearcher.com for regional and international retailers that are selling Blanton’s — for a hefty aftermarket markup. Very generally speaking, you’ll be able to find a retailer local to you. You can then go into the shop and use common sense to verify if it’s all legit or not.

METHOD 4 — Buying At Auction

This can be a very legitimate way to score Blanton’s if you follow the distillery auctions. Distilleries often release bottles throughout the year for various causes. Case in point, Buffalo Trace just released three bottles of Blanton’s (and several other huge name bottles) from their stocks for charity relief for Eastern Kentucky’s devastating floods. This is what you want to look for since there’s no question if these are real bottles or not. The benefit is also that you’ll actually be funneling the money you would have given an aftermarket retailer toward a good cause.

Right now, you can bid on all three Blanton’s — OG, Gold, and Straight from the Barrel — if you have a few grand to donate. Click right here to bid. You might win!

Then there are private house auctions for private charities for, say, golf clubs or retailers or a million other things. Sometimes those are fueled by donated bottles from private folks. The veracity of those bottles of Blanton’s is on those peoples’ words alone. The point I’m making here is to always, always do your research and find out where the bottles come from, who verified their legitimacy, and where they can actually deliver to (or if you have to pick them up).

METHOD 5 — Duty-Free

Okay, now we’re getting into the fun ways to buy Blanton’s! Traveling through IAD (Washington-Dulles) anytime soon? You can pre-order Blanton’s from their Duty-Free for pick up when you’re transferring internationally through that airport. The price is just over double MSRP per bottle, but it’s there.

German and Japanese Duty-Free is another great bet for bottles at much closer to MSRP. German Duty-Free will be a bit more hit and miss because the brand has a strong retail presence there (more on that next).

Japanese Duty-Free is the best bet, as Blanton’s tends to be widely available there too. You’ll generally find the OG bottle and then Black Label (and 80-proof version) and “Red Takara” Label Blanton’s (aged two years longer than Blanton’s otherwise the same as OG). Naturally, this will depend on which airport and which shop you’re in. Tokyo-Narita is the best bet — it’s a near guarantee you’ll find Blanton’s there.

And that’s just scratching the surface. The point is, check out Duty Free the next time you’re in a huge international airport. You might get really lucky.

METHOD 6 — International Retail

This is also a lot of fun but takes a little investment to, you know, actually, travel.

Again, Japan and Germany are your best options here. Though, this time, it’s Germany where you want to go for guaranteed retail. Here’s a big insider tip for Blanton’s OG, Gold, and Straight From The Barrel — you can get all three at retail shops in Berlin at MSRP. Big luxury shops like KaDeWe in Berlin will have three bottles of all three expressions on the shelf at most times. Regular whisk(e)y retailers in Germany will also have Blanton’s (and a lot of other Sazerac products) at MSRP pretty much all the time.

This is similar in Japan but those bottles tend to be Japanese-specific releases. Then again, those Japanese-specific releases have a lot more value when you bring them back to the U.S.. Anyway, if you ever needed another reason to travel, getting Blanton’s for sure is a good one.

***

Good luck out there this fall! And be sure to read our review of all three Blanton’s expressions before you pick your poison!

James Cameron directed the highest-grossing movie of all-time (when not adjusted for inflation) until it was displaced by another James Cameron movie. But along came Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame, which held the top-grosser title until it was replaced by… the same James Cameron movie.

First off, do not doubt James Cameron. Also, he’s not content to have the box office record by less than $55 million. No no no. Cameron wants to obliterate the Marvel Cinematic Universe (his prediction came true), which is one of the reasons why Avatar is being re-released in theaters. The other reason: so everyone can remember what the heck happened in Avatar before Avatar: The Way of Water comes out.

Avatar is returning to theaters for a limited time beginning on September 23 (the same weekend as Don’t Worry Darling) in 4K. You can watch the trailer above.

As for the sequel, here’s the official plot synopsis:

Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, Avatar: The Way of Water begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure

Avatar: The Way of Water hits theaters after multiple delays on December 16.

Following Warner Bros. Discovery‘s bombshell decision to indefinitely shelve Batgirl instead of letting it stream on HBO Max as originally planned, more and more details have been trickling out about Batgirl‘s fate. As the shocking move kicked off weeks of turmoil at the newly formed entertainment conglomerate (cancellations and the removal of streaming shows are still happening as of this writing), Batgirl directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah have been scrambling to sift through the wreckage. While the two have been politely diplomatic about the unprecedented situation, they are starting to speak out about watching their hard work seemingly vanish into thin air.

In a new interview with the French-based SKRIPT, El Arbi and Fallah reportedly revealed that they tried to access the Batgirl footage and record it on their phones after Warner Bros. Discovery pulled the plug because “they wanted to save some money.” However, the directors were shocked to learn that they were already blocked from the servers. For even more salt in the wound, they could no longer access footage of Michael Keaton as Batman, which particularly stung. Via IndieWire:

“We have nothing,” Fallah said. “Adil called me and said, ‘Shoot everything on your phone.’ I went on the server, and everything was blocked.”

El Arbi recalled, “We were like, ‘F*cking sh*t! All the scenes with Batman in them! Sh*t!’”

But the duo are still holding out hope for their superhero movie. “Seeing all the support on Twitter, and even from big directors Edgar Wright and James Gunn, who sent us supportive messages, it was comforting,” Fallah said.

The filmmaking team also revealed that Batgirl still needs to be finished, and for it to see the light of day, the studio would need to let them complete the final product.

“[‘Batgirl]’ cannot be released in its current state,” El Arbi said. “Before it’s released one day, there would be a lot of work still to do. Just like the ‘Snyder Cut.’ There’s no VFX, we still had to shoot some scenes. So if [Warner Bros. Discovery] wanted us to release the ‘Batgirl’ movie they would need to give us the means to do it, to finish it properly with our vision.”

Considering how much of a headache the Snyder Cut turned out to be, fans should probably not get their hopes up on the directors’ wishes. That’s especially considering Warner Bros. Discovery is trying to cut an astronomical amount of costs and seems to have no love for the Zack Snyder vanity project.

(Via IndieWire)

(Spoilers from The Boys Season 3 will be found below.)

Yes, The Boys only recently streamed their Season 3 finale, but showrunner Eric Kripke isn’t sitting around and cracking his knuckles in anticipation. Rather, he’s making the Supe magic happen by getting the ball rolling on Season 4 filming. And the cast is fully into getting the gang back together while showing off their enthusiasm on social media. Antony Starr showed off a throwback photo, and Karl Urban had drinks with Jack Quaid while Jensen Ackles had some fun while acknowledging not being on the scene (see ya, Soldier Boy).

Also on Instagram, Starlight actress Erin Moriarty decided to let everyone know that Starlight isn’t all legs and a polished hairdo. She posted a photo of that glamorous side, yes, but if one clicks through to the second photo, Starlight looks like one would expect her to realistically look after saving the world.

“Instagram vs. reality vs. instagram vs. reality,” Moriarty wrote in a post that you can see here (because the photo won’t embed). Round 4; bring on the dishevelment (and the blood, sweat, tears, + other bodily fluids that get excreted on or off screen invariably throughout the season).”

Erin Moriarty is a trooper for posting the non-glam Starlight. And I am looking forward to where she goes after the character officially became Annie January again. We might not see too much of this outfit, in other words. Hopefully, the cast will start dropping some BTS photos on social media soon, too. Fingers crossed.

After The Weeknd‘s show at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Saturday night, a large fire erupted outside of the venue, as reported by Variety. Fans noticed the fire and immediately shared pictures on social media, wasting no time before making “the concert was on fire” jokes.

While no injuries or deaths were reported, a vehicle containing fan merchandise had caught fire in the parking lot. Photos shared on social media have indicated that the vehicle was completely destroyed.

At the time of writing, The Weeknd had not yet commented on the destruction of the merch vehicle, however, he appears to be in good spirits, taking to Twitter to say that he’s looking forward to his next stop on the “After Hours Until Dawn” tour in Vancouver.

Additionally, he has several projects in the works, including an upcoming series for HBO called The Idol. While we don’t have a premiere date for The Idol yet, he has played trailers and teasers for the show during his tour stops, building up anticipation for the upcoming series, which he also developed alongside Euphoria creator Sam Levinson.

He also is set to release a new single called “Sci-Fi” with Grimes soon, which she described as “a trip” in an interview with Vogue China, as translated by fans and reported by NME.

The After Hours Til Dawn tour is set to continue until September 22, where he will conclude the run at Toronto’s Rogers Centre.